ubuntu-pro-client Information Disclosure via Cleartext Bearer Token Exposure in Process Command Line

MITRE NVD CVE.ORG JSON API

Summary

CVECVE-2026-9494
StatePUBLISHED
Assignercanonical
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-07-16 13:16:34 UTC
Updated2026-07-16 16:19:16 UTC
DescriptionAn information disclosure vulnerability exists in Canonical ubuntu-pro-client (formerly ubuntu-advantage-tools). The client validates Ubuntu Pro APT credentials by executing /usr/lib/apt/apt-helper using the download-file command. During this process, the secret bearer token is embedded directly in the cleartext URL component passed via the command-line arguments (argv), resulting in a URL format such as https://bearer:<token>@esm.ubuntu.com/.../. On systems utilizing a default-mounted /proc file system where process-hiding mitigations (such as hidepid) are disabled, an unprivileged local attacker can monitor system processes and read the sensitive bearer token directly from /proc/cmdline while the helper process is actively running. This leaked token can subsequently be used to gain unauthorized access to the victim's Ubuntu Pro or Expanded Security Maintenance (ESM) repositories.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 5.5 MEDIUM from [email protected]

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

EPSS: 0.001030000 probability, percentile 0.011550000 (date 2026-07-20)

Problem Types: CWE-214 | CWE-214 CWE-214 Invocation of process using visible sensitive information

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1[email protected]Secondary5.5MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
3.1CNACVSS5.5MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Canonical Ubuntu-pro-client Ubuntu-advantage-tools affected 37.3 python Linux
CNA Canonical Ubuntu 26.04 LTS unaffected 37.2ubuntu0.1 dpkg Linux
CNA Canonical Ubuntu 24.04 LTS unaffected 37.2ubuntu~24.04.1 dpkg Linux
CNA Canonical Ubuntu 22.04 LTS unaffected 37.2ubuntu~22.04.1 dpkg Linux
CNA Canonical Ubuntu 20.04 LTS unaffected 37.1ubuntu0~20.04.1 dpkg Linux
CNA Canonical Ubuntu 18.04 LTS unaffected 37.1ubuntu0~18.04.1 dpkg Linux
CNA Canonical Ubuntu 16.04 LTS unaffected 37.1ubuntu0~16.04.1 dpkg Linux
CNA Canonical Ubuntu 14.04 LTS unaffected 19.7ubuntu0.1 dpkg Linux

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-9494 [email protected] ubuntu.com
CVE Program record CVE.ORG www.cve.org canonical
NVD vulnerability detail NVD nvd.nist.gov canonical, analysis

Vendor Comments And Credit

Discovery Credit

CNA: Bilal Teke (en)

© CVE.report 2026

Use of this information constitutes acceptance for use in an AS IS condition. There are NO warranties, implied or otherwise, with regard to this information or its use. Any use of this information is at the user's risk. It is the responsibility of user to evaluate the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, opinion, advice or other content. EACH USER WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY consequences of his or her direct or indirect use of this web site. ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED. This site will NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT or any other kind of loss.

CVE, CWE, and OVAL are registred trademarks of The MITRE Corporation and the authoritative source of CVE content is MITRE's CVE web site. This site includes MITRE data granted under the following license.

Free CVE JSON API cve.report/api

CVE.report and Source URL Uptime Status status.cve.report